5 Things to Do in Vancouver WA This Week - Wine & Jazz Festival, Movies in the Park, Brewing Bridges & Junior Ranger Day (August 21–30, 2026)

Now in its 26th year, the Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival returns to Esther Short Park as what ABC TV's KATU 2 has called "the largest festival of its kind in the Northwest." Since 1998, the festival has welcomed visitors from more than 25 states, Canada, China, Europe, and Japan, drawing an estimated 6,000–8,000 attendees over its three-day run. It was named the Washington Festivals and Events Association's 2023 Event of the Year for Southwest Washington, and it's easy to see why once you see the lineup.

This year's 16-band bill mixes GRAMMY-winning headliners with beloved regional acts: Cuban jazz legend Paquito D'Rivera headlines Saturday night, joined across the weekend by vocal jazz icons New York Voices, blues rockers Too Slim & The Taildraggers, seven-time GRAMMY-nominated pianist Chuchito Valdés, GRAMMY-nominated pianist David Benoit, funk outfit Polyrhythmics, Brazilian pianist Jovino Santos Neto Quinteto, and gospel vocalist LaRhonda Steele closing out Sunday. Beyond the music, expect more than 60 Pacific Northwest wines to sample, Northwest craft beers on tap, five local restaurants serving everything from Northwest crab cakes to Turkish cuisine, and fine artists from Oregon, Washington, and California. The festival is a program of Bravo! Concerts Northwest, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization based in Vancouver.

Bring your friends and family for an evening of fun at the free Friday Night Movie in the Parks. This week's showing is Zootopia 2 (PG) at Bagley Community Park: detectives Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde go undercover in unexpected parts of the mammal metropolis to track down a mysterious reptile, and their partnership is tested as they navigate new environments to prevent a stolen heirloom from igniting a city-wide conspiracy about Zootopia's true founders.

This is one of Vancouver's simplest, most reliable summer traditions — every Friday night through August, the city sets up a different park with a free family movie. Arrive early for pre-movie activities from community partners, spread out a blanket, and let the kids run around before the film starts as the sun goes down. All movies are close captioned, and food and refreshments are available to purchase from local vendors, or you're welcome to bring your own picnic.

Get ready for an unforgettable craft beer experience. Brewing Bridges is back, bringing together the Northbank Brewers Alliance — representing Southwest Washington breweries from Seaview to Goldendale — with top breweries and cideries from Oregon and beyond for a festival built entirely around one-time-only collaboration beers you genuinely cannot find anywhere else. Over 30 breweries participate each year, each pairing with an out-of-region partner to brew something exclusive just for this event.

The festival has grown up alongside Clark County's craft beer scene since its founding by the Northbank Brewers Alliance, an organization formed in 2017 to spotlight the beer being made along the north side of the Columbia River. Expect food trucks, a vendor area with a Saturday Market feel, live music, and a genuinely unique tasting experience — since every beer poured here is a one-time collaboration, you won't be able to order the same thing again once the festival ends. General admission tickets typically include unlimited tastings and a commemorative glass, with VIP options adding food and lounge access.

National Junior Ranger Day caps off National Park Week each year, and Fort Vancouver National Historic Site has hosted a local celebration nearly every year since the program's national debut. Kids of all ages — the program is designed for ages 6 to 12, though younger children can participate with help — complete a series of hands-on activities and demonstrations around the park to earn their own Junior Ranger badge, with historically costumed volunteers and NPS rangers on hand throughout the grounds.

In past years, activities have included baling furs with an 1840s-style fur press, trying on living history clothing, black powder musket demonstrations, and completing a themed activity booklet that can be finished at either the reconstructed fort or Pearson Air Museum. The Junior Ranger motto — "Explore, Learn, and Protect" — sums up the spirit of the day: it's built to get kids genuinely curious about the parks and history in their own backyard, not just check a box for a badge.

If you're looking for a lower-key Friday night that doesn't involve a festival crowd, Dinner with Tony at Loyal Legion in downtown Vancouver is worth a look. This one's been filling up fast, so if it catches your eye, don't wait too long to grab a spot.

Loyal Legion is known for its extensive beer hall lineup and casual, communal dining vibe, making it a solid pick for an evening that's easygoing rather than elaborate. Pair it with an early stop at the Vancouver Wine & Jazz Festival a few blocks away, or make it your whole night — downtown Vancouver is compact enough that you can genuinely do both without much of a walk.